Families of power

The trip back took a little less, even if more or less they had to be covered the same distance. The reason was that before, Mark and Truck-kun were on guard in case they would be followed and possibly attacked.

Even if there were no indications of being followed, they left the town where they started the delivery Truck-kun said that they should be ready just in case. But since they finished the delivery and didn't have to worry about people trying to attack them for it, they could move a bit faster.

As he entered the 'junkyard' and soon found a familiar face. It was Erinne, the person who gave him the assignment. After getting his head outside the side window, Mark stopped the truck and waved toward her to get her attention.

He succeeded in doing so as she looked towards him and pointed in a direction. Mark looked where she pointed and noticed some trucks parked there, similar to the ones he was in. There was some free space, so she wanted him to park the truck there.

He complied as fast as he could, which, with Truck-kun's help, didn't take that long. He then headed towards Erinne as he wanted to finish his 'report', even if she probably knew everything either way, as he had done little other than get everything there.

On the way there, Mark looked around for Rubes, but he wasn't anywhere to see, but there were many places he couldn't see currently as this place was quite large.

"My people told me that you had succeeded in your task. It seems that you aren't as hopeless a case as I thought. "

Mark thought Truck-kun spoke to him for a moment, even if the voice wasn't robotic. After all, he had made comments like that quite a few times those past few days.

But Mark didn't mind those comments, as he understood that he was in the wrong even if he didn't want to. Even if he couldn't do anything about it, he had lost what they gave him to deliver in the past.

"Is there anything else I can help you with? "

Mark still didn't know if he had been technically got hired yet. It sounded like this task was a test, and he didn't want to assume that he had passed.

"For now, you can wait until we call you. But your first wage should be on your account already. "

"M… my first wage?!? "Mark exclaimed confusingly as he couldn't tell if the woman was joking or not, even if her voice was as neutral as always.

"Yes, all new employees get their first wage at the moment of the hiring. It is a company policy, but keep in mind if you get fired during the first month, you need to give back that amount. "

Mark stayed frozen for a moment, but then something popped up into his mind. It was something he didn't want to say, as it could cause some trouble, but he couldn't hold himself from asking.

"Shouldn't I have signed a contract first or something? "

Mark had never worked long-term for someone to be considered an employee, but it didn't mean he didn't know how it worked. He knew a few other people in the business with those kinds of positions, so they explained a few things.

"Of course it is, but you had already signed it. "

That sentence confused Mark, as he had signed nothing like that. But then a memory popped up in his memory out of nowhere.

It was when he took the previous delivery assignment which led to the accident. Before the people could start loading the product, he had to sign a contract about his services, but he was confident that it was meant for that delivery only.

'Could it be that I misread it, or do I remember it wrong? '

"Oh, yes. I am sorry about the misunderstanding. The trip was long and need to sleep a bit. By the way, how can I communicate with you in case an assignment comes? "

Erinne quickly brought out a business card so smoothly that Mark thought she should have done so thousands of times before. It had the same logo as the paper with his assignment, Erinne's name, and a phone number.

"Thank you, Miss Terret. "

The woman seemed annoyed that Mark referred to her like that, but she said nothing and just turned and walked away.

It surprised Mark reading that her full name was Erinne Terret, as he was familiar with the Terret family. Moreover, it was one that his family had a close relationship with, even if they weren't in similar fields.

The Terret family's primary business was in horses, either breeding them or events involving horses, most races, of course. Of course, Mark had never heard of one named Erinne, but he hardly knew many Terrets.

He knew, though, of the 'Big Boss 'of the main branch family of Terret's, Orin Terret, as his 'father' was good friends with him. The two were close to each other because Orin had saved the life of Mark's father.

An accident happened while Mark's father was on a climbing trip with a group. Mark's father back then was relatively young and reckless, so he had split up from the group to move forward through the path of his choice.

Of course, that path was a most dangerous one that even the most experienced climbers wouldn't take without being extra careful. But the recklessness of Mark's father cost him, as he made a mistake and got buried by a small avalanche he accidentally caused.

But he didn't die because of it, but many of his bones had broken, and in time would die from either bleeding or the pain. But not long after, the stones that had fallen over him started to move as someone came to the rescue.

That someone was Orin Terret, who wasn't that far from the avalanche and had heard it and came to check. He then listened to the screams of pain, so he started helping to the best of his abilities to free the person in need.

In the end, he didn't move all the stones to free Mark's father, but enough so to allow the latter to move out of his prison himself. It was painful to do with the broken bones, but the two men returned to the group to treat their wounds.

Of course, Orin wasn't that much wounded, he just received some because of some mistakes in moving some stones, but they were primarily scratches.

As for Mark's father, much of the damage was permanent, and he had lost both his left arm and right leg back then. But a loss like that to him wasn't that much, as the current medical tech had reached the point of making robotic arms and legs. They were as good as or even better than the real ones.

But getting one wasn't cheap, but since this was someone part of the Main Branch of the Ranac family, he could get access to it quickly enough.

From that point, the two families were close, as there were even some discussions of Mark marrying a Terret, but that was before he got exiled. But one could tell that the Terret family owed a lot to the Ranac family, as before becoming their friends, they barely had a stable.

In less than four decades, the Terret was a family of much influence. They weren't, of course, anywhere near Ranc's level, but they had power.

As for those families that had increased to be at the top of society, they all kept a similar structure. They were separating themselves into branches, at least two, with one being the Main Branch.

The main branch belonged to the owners of the primary source of money or influence, and the members could change if the source changed, too. But for something like that to happen was very rare, as a change like that would bring instability in the family, which could cause them to fall victim to other families.

Mark knew that at least two dozen families were at the level of Terret in the entire world, and only three were at Ranac's level.

But there was a single family over them, but its name was unknown. It was said that it ruled over multiple governments in the background and could even cause Ranac's to get out of business in an instant.

Mark didn't know if those rumors were true, as even during his time as an actual Ranac member, he had never encountered a member of the said family or heard about the appearance of one. But he had heard rumors that his grandfather from his father's side had met one of them in the past, but that was it in the end, just rumors.

But Mark couldn't stop thinking about that family while he stared at the business card she had given him.

More specifically, at the Company Icon of it, it looked like a bird made of fire covering a planet with its wings.

In the end, he couldn't stop thinking about a single question.

'What is your true background, Bellot family? '